Writers and poets in the city will be excited, as the favourite haunt of intellectuals, Pak Tea House, is set to revive literary and cultural activities within the next two weeks. The building of the Pak Tea House, which was being used as a garment store, was vacated on Thursday on the orders of the Lahore commissioner and has now come under control of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).

After the closure of the Pak Tea House, a cloth dealer had illegally occupied the building and was using it as a warehouse.

A YMCA spokesman told Daily Times that an inauguration ceremony to revive literary and cultural activities at the Pak Tea House would be held in two weeks.

He added that the YMCA was in talks with a multinational company, which was willing to sponsor the Pak Tea House and refurbish it. He added that this would restore the building to its condition of 10 years ago, allowing writers, poets and artists to share ideas and enjoy food there.

The Pak Tea House was a famous intellectual cafe in the city that has traditionally been frequented by prominent literary personalities. Some of the well-known visitors of the cafe included Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Nasir Kazimi, Ahmed Faraz, Muneer Niazi, Kamal Rizvi, Professor Sayyid Sajjad Rizavi, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Intezar Hussain and Ashfaq Ahmad. tariq farid